So in light of my recent (and actually working) attempts to eat healthier and get fitter, I thought I would post my recipes that I am discovering for myself. I've never been into cooking that much and whenever I've wanted to cook healthy food I've been put off by the price of the ingredients/having loads of ingredients/making food fit for a bazillion people. But my current plans are working and I'm really happy about that. :)
Couscous with peppers, butternut squash and dates/prunes, served with a crunchy side salad
x1/2 red bell pepper
An equal amount of butternut squash
Couscous
Dates/prunes/figs
Side salad (crunchy works well)
Chop and slice half a red bell pepper, the butternut squash and the dates. There's no specific way to do it but IMO dicing doesn't work as well.
Boil couscous with water at a ratio of 2:1 cups. Half a cup of couscous was the perfect amount for me.
Stir the couscous once it's reached the boil, then turn down the heat and cover. Let it simmer until it stops steaming. Feel free to keep stirring to get all the moisture out.
As it's simmering, add the butternut squash to a hot frying pan/wok with a little oil. The butternut squash is the toughest vegetable and it needs to be soft (although not mush).
Test the butternut squash after sauteeing for about 5 minutes. When it's almost as soft as you want it, add the peppers.
Keep sauteeing until the steam has gone from the pan with the couscous (or the vegetables are done enough), then add the couscous and the dates to the frying pan/wok. The heat will get rid of any more moisture and the vegetables will get stuck in the couscous, allowing them too cook through but not burn.
Once it's done, serve with side salad.
Time taken: Approx 20 minutes (incl. prep)
Cost: Approx £1.20 ($1.98)
The most expensive thing is the dates/prunes/figs. Everything else is under a pound. You can make multiple servings of this, and for just me the amount of food was the perfect quantity.
